SYRACUSE — Syracuse University and the Northeast Clean Energy Council (NECEC) have formed a collaborative partnership that seeks to raise the “visibility and impact of emerging research” on clean-climate technologies. Their agreement, which Syracuse announced Nov. 7, will also work to “increase engagement” in the region for governments and businesses looking to meet their net-zero […]
SYRACUSE — Syracuse University and the Northeast Clean Energy Council (NECEC) have formed a collaborative partnership that seeks to raise the “visibility and impact of emerging research” on clean-climate technologies.
Their agreement, which Syracuse announced Nov. 7, will also work to “increase engagement” in the region for governments and businesses looking to meet their net-zero carbon transitions through clean-energy policies and innovations, and create career-building experiential opportunities for students.
Based in Somerville, Massachusetts, NECEC represents more than 300 member companies involved in climate technology throughout New York State and New England.
The joint Syracuse University-NECEC initiative offers a “unique opportunity” to leverage the engagement expertise of NECEC in policy and innovation for clean energy and climate with the “research strengths” of the university, an R-1 (top-tier) international research institution, Syracuse University said.
As part of the agreement, Syracuse University will host an operating office for NECEC at the Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems (SyracuseCoE) at 727 E. Washington St. in Syracuse.
Student researchers from the Dynamic Sustainability Lab will staff the facility. Dynamic Sustainability Lab is a research unit in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, which is set to open in the spring semester, per the Syracuse University announcement.
“Through partnerships with strategic leaders such as NECEC, we aim to harness the research and creative activities of our faculty and students for the benefit of our community, our nation and our planet as we face pressing climate and sustainability challenges,” Duncan Brown, Syracuse’s VP for research, said. “Our partnership with NECEC will provide unique opportunities for Syracuse University students from many different academic programs to work together with climate and energy experts and innovators on real-world and impactful projects that will better prepare them for successful careers after graduation.”
Besides his role as VP for research, Brown is also the Charles Brightman Endowed Professor of Physics, the school noted.
NECEC President Joe Curtatone said the “stage has been set” for students to enter new climate-conscious professions, due to $369 billion in federal investment from the Inflation Reduction Act and important action by New York State “and beyond on converting to a clean-energy grid.”
“Decarbonization is a whole-of-society effort that must reach every home on every street in every neighborhood before we can deem it a success,” Curtatone said. “That’s going to mean generations of new jobs as we break our fossil-fuel dependency and embrace localized-energy production, clean-energy consumption and sustainable industrial practices. It is essential to have top-flight institutions like Syracuse not just preparing students to succeed in the climate economy, but in leading efforts for a rapid and opportunity-laden transition to a decarbonized world.”
Jay Golden, director of the Dynamic Sustainability Lab in the Maxwell School, developed the idea for the partnership with Curtatone. Golden calls the alliance an “exciting development at an opportune time.”
The Dynamic Sustainability Lab recently was awarded part of a multi-institutional $60 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to advance climate-smart commodities and products.
“Our partnership with NECEC will help accelerate our progress in developing practical solutions and speed the growth of a new generation of innovators, entrepreneurs and green-tech businesses in New York state. And through this partnership, these innovations now will benefit not only the people of New York, but also those living throughout the Northeast,” said Golden, who is also a professor of environmental sustainability and finance.